Orthopedic stilt



March 11, 1958 c. A. PATE ORTHOPEDIC STILT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 15, 1954 FIG-3 FIG-2 FIG-1 IN V EN TOR.

. CHARLES A. PATE FIG-4 ATTORNEYS March 11, 1958 c. A.'PATE 2,826,415

- ORTHOPEDIC snur Filed Oct. 15, 1954 FIG-6 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG-1O INVEN TOR.

CHARLES A. 'PATE ATTORNEYS United States Patent ORTHOPEDIC STILT Charles A. Pate, Lufkin, Tex. Application October 15, 1954, Serial No. 462,496

2 Claims. (Cl. 27270.1)

This invention relates to stilts and to a step block for stilts.

The ordinary type of stilt used by many young people in play consists of poles having fiat blocks or steps attached thereto for supporting the foot of the user. These blocks usually have substantially flat surfaces which, in normal use, engage the shoe arches and, due to the slanted or sloped configuration of these arches, tend to throw the person off balance by causing his feet to be tipped rearwardly from normal walking position. Thus, the legs of the person are urged at an angle rearwardly of the pole and his center of gravity is behind a plane through the vertical axes of the stilt poles, rather than substantially in such plane.

To overcome this the person using the stilts must lean forward and the ankle joint must assume an unnatural position, much the same as a person standing upon level ground and leaning stifily forward, bending only at the ankle joints. This awkward position increases the difficulty of maintaining proper balance on the stilts and subjects the ankles and legs of the user to uncommon strain.

It is possible to overcome this adverse tilting action by replacing the step block with a peg or rod extending outwardly from the stilt pole, but such a construction does not provide the stable support that is afforded by a block, and again in order to maintain the feet, ankles and legs in proper alignment, for example in such relative position as would be assumed in normal walking, considerable strain is placed upon the ankles and feet. This is due to the fact that in standing upon such pegs or rods the arches of the shoes are only in substantially line contact with the pegs and any slight off balance movement of the body may cause pivoting of the shoes about the rod or peg.

The present invention provides stilts having step blocks which are formed to engage the shoes of the person using the stilts, and especially the arch of the shoes, and to maintain the position of the shoes, and thereby the feet of the user, at a definite angle with respect to the vertical axes of the stilt poles. In accordance with the invention a step block is attached to a stilt pole, with the sides of the block vertically aligned with the vertical axis of the pole. This block includes a rear surface the plane of which is substantially in vertical alignment with the pole for engaging the heel of the shoe, and an upper surface having a central contoured portion which slopes forwardly and downwardly from the rear surface at such an angle as to engage the arch of the shoe and determine the angular relation between the longitudinal and transverse horizontal axes of the shoe and the vertical axis of the stilt pole.

In order to align the shoe arch with this contoured surface a pair of lugs project upwardly from the upper surface of the block on either side of the contoured portion, and are arranged to engage opposite sides of the shoe arch to hold it within the sloped central portion. Thus the weight of the user upon the shoes forces them into predetermined engagement with the step blocks, and these blocks in turn hold the shoes in predetermined alignment with the stilt pole.

Stilts made in accordance with the invention are especially adaptable to use in orthopedic treatments of children. The relationship of the contoured step block may be easily altered to maintain the feet of the child in abnormal relationship with respect to the stilt pole, this relationship being determined in accordance with the necessary prescribed treatment for the child. One example of such treatment is the use of these stilts to force the legs of a child inwardly away from the stilt poles to correct for bowed legs. These stilts are admirably suited to use in such orthopedic treatments since a child using them will consider himself as playing rather than undergoing treatment.

It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide a stilt which includes a step block adapted to engage the shoe of the user and accurately position it relative to the stilt pole.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a stilt which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a stilt wherein the step block dimensions may be altered to force the shoe of the person using the stilt into pre determined alignment with respect to the stilt pole for using the stilt in orthopedic exercising.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a stilt embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the stilts in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the step block seen on the stilt in Fig. 1, with the positioning lugs removed therefrom;

Fig. 4 is a partial side elevation of the step block with the lugs in position;

Fig. 5 is a top elevational view of the step block shown attached to the stilt pole;

Figs. 6 and 7 are top elevational views similar to Fig. 5, showing modified arrangements of the step block;

Figs. 8 and 9 are side elevational views similar to Fig. 2, showing other modified forms of the step block for use in orthopedic treatment; and

Figs. 10 and 11 are rear elevational views of further modified forms of the stilt as used in orthopedic treatments.

Referring ot the drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, Figs. 1 and 2 show a stilt provided by this invention, only one of a. pair being illustrated in the drawing for purposes of simplification. It is to be understood that the stilts actually are made in pairs, and each one includes a pole 10 to which a step block 12 is attached, and which block is adjustable to a number of positions vertically along the pole. These stilts are normally provided in identical pairs, the only difference between the right and left stilts usually being that one is complementary to the other.

Step block 12 includes transverse holes 13 through which are passed bolts 14 extending horizontally therethrough for engagement with any of two of a number of vertically spaced apertures 15 in the stilt pole 10. Suitable wing nuts 16, or similar fasteners, are used to tighten the bolts to the pole, and washers 17 (Fig. 5) are provided with each wing nut to provide a wide-flat surface for clamping engagement with the pole. i

The block 12 includes a fiat rear surface 29 which extends in a vertical plane aligned with the vertical axis of the pole 10 when the block and pole are assembled. The upper surface 22 of the block is sloped forwardly and of the shoe arch.

downwardly away from the rear surface, and includes a contoured center portion 24.

Referring to Fig. 2, a shoe 25 having a heel 26 is seen in engagement with the block 12, and it will be noted that the heel engages the rear surface 20 while the sloped central portion of the block fits under the arch of the shoe and maintains the arch and heel in the same relative position as if the shoe were resting upon a flat surface.

If the inner edge of the heel is slanted, a shim 39 may be attached to the rear surface 26 of the block, as shown in dot-dash lines in Fig. 5, to insure that the shoe is properly aligned with contoured portion'24. At each side of the contoured portion a lug 35 is removably fastened to upper surface 22 by screws 36 and extends upwardly to engage the opposite sides of the shoe arch and cooperate with the rear surface 29 or the heel shim 30, as the case may be, in aligning the longitudinal axis of the shoe with respect to the block 12. Use of screws 36 permits adjustment of the lugs to an exact fit with the sides In normal applications the relative dimensions and locations of the sloped central portion, the rear surface 20, and the lugs 35 are so arranged that the feet of the user are maintained in the same relative position to the ground that they would assume if the person were walking upon the ground.

In accordance with this invention it is possible to alter the relative locations of the lugs, the heel shim and the upper contoured surface portion to accurately position the feet of the person using the stilts at a predetermined angle with respect to the stilt pole, and thereby adapt the stilts for use in orthopedic exercising. For example, if it is desired to stretch certain tendons in the ankles, the sloped central portion 2 3- may be altered to slope more (Fig. 9) or less (Fig. 8) than normal, thus forcing the feet of the user to be held tilted either forwardly or rearwardly from the normal walking position as required.

In the example of Fig. 6, showing a top elevational view of a modified stilt block for the right foot only, as an example of the step block construction altered to correct for a pigeon-teed condition, a step block 40 has a sloped contoured upper surface 42 formed therein with its center line 43 at an angle to the normal transverse center line of the block such as to force the foot of the user to fan outwardly, that is to point the toe of the shoe outwardly. A heel shim 44- is suitably fastened to the rear of block 4% with its rear surface 45 substantially perpendicular to center line 43. This shim, together with lugs 46 which engage opposite sides of the shoe arch, holds the shoe of the patient in the desired position. In Fig. 7 the step block construction has been modified to correct for fan or outwardly pointing feet, and the same elements as in Fig. 6 are referred to by the same reference numerals primed to indicate the altered condition. It will be noted that the heel shim 44 is reversed, but that its rear surface 45 is still maintained substantially perpendicular in horizontal cross-section to the center line 43' of contoured surface 42' to maintain the shoe of the user in the desired position.

Figs. 10 and ll show a further modification of the step block at 50 and 50 respectively. In Fig. 10 the step block 50 has an upper surface 511 which corresponds to upper surface 22 of the normal step block seen in Fig. 3, but in this altered construction the upper surface 51 slopes upwardly and outwardly in a lateral direction from the longitudinal axis of pole at so as to force the knees of the user part. Such a construction could be utilized in exercises prescribed for overcoming a knock-kneed condition. In Fig. ll upper surface i is sloped downwardly laterally of pole 10, somewhat the reverse of the construction in Fig. 10, to indicate how the step block might be further altered to provide for exercising in overcoming a bowed-leg condition.

It is of course possible to construct step blocks which are combinations of any two'or more of the above de-,

scribed modifications to provide compound compensations for certain conditions requiring orthopedic treatment. For example, a step block may be shaped to provide corrections such as illustrated in Fig. 6 and Fig. 8, for use in treating a patient having inwardly pointed toes together with foreshortened tendons at the rear of the ankle. It is believed that further similar modifications are readily apparent from the illustrated examples, and that these examples are sufiicient to clearly point out the principles of the invention.

It will thus be seen that the present invention, while of simple and inexpensive construction, provides a stilt in which the feet of the user may be accurately positioned relative to the axis of the stilt pole, and in which such position may be intentionally altered to a predetermined degree as prescribed for use in orthopedic exercises.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a stilt the combination of a pole, a step block adjustably attached to said pole for vertical movement thereon, said block having an upper surface for receiving the shoe of a person using said stilt and a rear surface substantially in vertical alignment with the vertical axis of said pole for engaging the heel of said shoe, said upper surface including a central portion thereof sloping forwardly and downwardly from said rear surface and contoured to engage the arch of said shoe for determining the angular relationship between the longitudinal horizontal axis of the shoe and said rear surface, and a pair of lugs projecting upwardly from said upper surface on opposite sides of said central portion to engage opposite sides of said shoe arch and align said arch with said sloped central portion.

2. In a stilt for use in orthopedic exercising the combination of a pole, a step block attached to said pole for supporting the shoe of a person using said stilt, said block having an upper surface extending laterally of said pole inclined at a predetermined angle relative thereto for determining the angular relationship between the vertical axis of said shoe and the vertical axis of said pole, said block also having a rear surface the plane of which is in substantial vertical alignment with the vertical axis of said pole, said upper surface including a central contoured portion engaging the arch of said shoe for aligning the transverse and longitudinal horizontal axes of said shoe with respect to the plane of said upper surface, a pair of lugs projecting upwardly from said upper surface on opposite sides of said central portion to engage the opposite sides of saidshoe arch and align said shoe with respect to said central portion, and a heel shim secured to said rear surface adjacent said central portion to engage the heel of said shoe for cooperation with said lugs in aligning said shoe with respect to said central portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,037,503 Mann Sept. 3, 1912 1,575,042 Denniston Mar. 2, 1926 2,395,936 Oleisky Mar. 5, 1946 2,554,718 Oleskey May 29, 1951 2,659,087 Skaggs et al Nov. 17, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES Publication: La Prothese Fonctionnelle Paralysies et des Contractures, by Mauria Chiray et I. Dagan Bouveret, published by Maloine et Fils, 27 Rue De LEcole de Medecine, Paris, 1919. Pages 353-357 relied on. 

